The 12-Minute Fellow Blog: Recent Sells

Portfolio Update August 2019

Portfolio Update November 2019

Portfolio Update February 2020

Portfolio Update May 2020

Portfolio Update August2020

Note that the last words of this report have been written on November 1^st, before the US presidential election.

Despite all unprecedented events, our DIY Portfolio is still in the positive this year, which is surprising. Year-to-date capital return is around zero and are modest return essentially comes from dividends. Not that bad waiting for better days.

It would be doing even better if it were not for the last week of October where it abruptly went down by a little more than 4%. We can sense markets are getting nervous about the upcoming US election. Contested results would probably cause the most turbulence. That’s why today, we’ll try to reason not giving into fear, essential for any successful investor.

After that, we’ll discuss our own portfolio management for the upcoming months and years. For now, let’s just say things are not getting simpler. We’ll conclude with our usual roundup of portfolio transactions. You’ll see we have been doing a little bit more lately.

Once more, I’ll remind you that I am not an investment or tax professional of any kind. The intent of this blog is not to give specific investing advice. Before investing yourself, we suggest you do all necessary research and consult a licensed financial professional if need be.

Resist Giving into Fear

With all that is happening in the world, you may be tempted to give into your fear and cash in all your investments. We have to confess that even us, as committed investors, are sometimes afraid and have our moments of doubt.

We still believe you have to resist and remain patient as efficient investing always has to be approached with a long-term perspective.

August 12, 2020

Portfolio Update August 2020

Time flies as we again report on our DIY Portfolio progress. In a similar fashion, you can expect our next update in about 12 weeks.

You can have a look at previous portfolio updates here:

All Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update May 2018

Portfolio Update August 2019

Portfolio Update November 2019

Portfolio Update February 2020

Portfolio Update May 2020

We are kind of glad to take a break from this unusually hot and humid summer. Luckily, our air-conditioned home can keep us cool. It may not be the case for everyone, and some would even prefer to get back to their more comfortable office. This unexpected crisis really forced many of us to experience the pros and cons of working from home.

Lots of companies have to reform their entire business model in these changing times. Some still thrive and even found unforeseen ways to reduce their costs. Others, not so much. Maintaining some level of sales or surviving till things get back to the new normal may be the key for most.

Despite all uncertainties, a lot of positives may be coming out of this year’s turmoil. For one thing, we were kind of obliged to adopt environment friendly solutions like telecommuting. A sense of solidarity also greatly developed in several communities. Even more important for humanity’s sake, you know who will probably get kicked out.

The next big question for many worried investors is how will the markets react to all of this?

Still Going Strong

Our answer is still somewhat the same: we don’t really know but don’t care that much.

What is important is that we remain confident our DIY Portfolio will fare well in the long haul, no matter all these short-term interrogations.

November 12, 2019

Portfolio Update November 2019

For a little over 4 years now, we have been reporting our DIY Portfolio progress every 12 weeks or so. And despite the fact the entire process was quite fulfilling by keeping us accountable and fueling our reflection, enjoy these reports while they last because they might stop coming sooner than you might expect. In fact, we have been thinking a lot lately about our blogging career and are at least considering an extended break.

So, if you can’t live without these reports or any other part of our blog, show us some love!

Because the cold hard facts are that we simply may not have the will to continue on our own.

Let’s proceed for now. Hopefully not one last time…

You can access earlier portfolio updates here:

All Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update May 2018

Portfolio Update August 2019

In the last few months, many signs have been pointing in the direction of a recession. The blow-in-our-faces economical alarms seem to be ticking louder and more often. We can be worried that some of our leaders (I can at least think of one in particular) won’t be able to effectively handle potentially fast approaching crisis. Could the next major recession be also environmentally driven? In many ways, this could be remarkably painful.

We still have a strong belief in the long-term perspective of stocks and won’t bother too much about short-term gyrations. We can only focus on putting measures in place to profit from amazing opportunities colossal market noise may provide.

August 12, 2019

Portfolio Update August 2019

Despite being on overly relax mode for a while, we are still glad to bring you our latest DIY Portfolio developments. As it has been the case for the last few years, you can expert our next update in about 12 weeks, in early November 2019.

You can also access our earlier portfolio updates here:

All Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update May 2018

Granting things have been somewhat quiet on the markets since our last report, we’ve still experienced the usual ups and downs. In fact, it was more down followed by up this time around, as after a rough patch around May, most stocks resumed their climb up on a slightly slower yet steady pace.

As we eluded to on our last report, we are in a cleanup mode and high market values were a good fit, at least sell wise. Buying replacements was more difficult to accomplish as interesting opportunities rarely materialized. As some of you may have predicted, we adopted a decisive yet patient approach in that context. To sum it up in a few words: decisive to sell and patient to buy.

May 12, 2018

Portfolio Update May 2018

With this year’s late blooming spring first warm sunny days comes another update of our DIY Portfolio. As usual, you can expect our following update in about 12 weeks, in August 2018.

You can also access our previous portfolio updates here:

Portfolio Update August 2015

Portfolio Update November 2015

Portfolio Update February 2016

Portfolio Update May 2016

Portfolio Update August 2016

Portfolio Update November 2016

Portfolio Update February 2017

Portfolio Update May 2017

Portfolio Update August 2017